The Champ is Victorious

After the victories at King’s Mountain and Cowpens and in the fall of 1781, about 16,000 French and Americans led by General George Washington and assisted by Rochambeau and Lincoln, went from Williamsburg to Yorktown, Virginia. Washington had discovered that General Cornwallis planned to set up base on the coast by which he would be able to communicate with Sir Henry Clinton who was stationed in New York. Clinton, a native of New York, had been positioned there afraid to leave the area for fear General Washington and his troops would attack.

Washington’s plan was to surround Cornwallis in Yorktown and block any British access to the sea using 24 French warships which would permit bombardment of the enemy from land and sea.

At Yorktown there were only about 7,000 British, but they were well dug in. Washington’s first obstacle were British gunners behind low barriers about 1,000 yards from the main force. On September 30 Cornwallis pulled these men back because he just received news that 5,000 more British were coming and thought he could survive the siege until they arrived if all his men were together.

The French kept the British busy fighting on one side of Yorktown, while the American men built entrenchments on the other side. Soon the allies were pouring artillery into Yorktown around the clock.

Cornwallis’s reinforcements did not come, and on the night of October 16th, he tried to escape across the York River with his Army. A terrible storm made it impossible to cross the river, and the British were trapped. The American shelling of Yorktown continued the next day. The artillery fire was so harsh the

 British could hardly fire back in addition to being low on supplies and ammunition.

Cornwallis had hoped Clinton would send reinforcements from New York sooner, but they were not sent in time. Locked and surrounded inside the ropes with no way to escape, Cornwallis had no choice but to surrender. "I have the mortification to inform your Excellency, that I have been forced to give up the posts of York and Gloucester, and to surrender the troops under my command, by capitulation on the 19th inst. As prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France." were the sentiments of the defeated general to Sir Henry Clinton.

Cornwallis had requested a twenty-four hour truce period so terms of the surrender could be drawn up. Washington refused and only gave a two-hour proposal period.

When it came time for the actual surrender, Cornwallis supposedly ill, had delegated his sword to be surrendered by General O’Hara, second in command. Washington, realizing his position, refused to accept the sword but appointed General Lincoln to do the honors.

While this was taking place, the British band played "The World Turned Upside Down."

Five days later amidst the peaceful calm, around 7,000 British reinforcements arrived, but the round was already won. As far as the Americans were concerned, this was the last battle of the American Revolution and liberty was finally acquired. We had won our freedom!

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